Friends,Fins,Fish,Fun

October 21-27, 2010

After hearing the fishing stories from DaniellStorey about his great fishing day and then hearing  from Domino and Dancing Dolphin about our luck.  Ronnie just couldn’t stay tucked into Grenada another day.  Enough was enough.   He and Babbie, under the premise of meeting a friend who was supposed to be coming to Carriacou, showed up in Tyrell Bay.   Their friend never did arrive.  The Crew of Domino had moved north to Bequia and so missed the surprise reunion with Campechano.   We spent much of the weekend enjoying their company and even took their boat out to White Island for a day of fishing, snorkeling, and picnicing.   We only caught a barracuda but it was something.   Ronnie says he is due for a big fish day, just not that day.   We had a good time with them snorkeling around little White Island just south of Carriacou.   We were not too disappointed, not catching fish because we had spent the a couple of days with Ken and Katy of s/v Diana who are also here with us in Tyrell Bay, catching lobster.  We have enough seafood to last a while.  One day a small pirogue came by the boat.  We are traveling north again and so we expect to see an increase of boat vendors, etc.  The young man handed us a handwritten flyer advertising a fish fry on the beach.  It was being hosted by the families of the local ladies who run the vegetable stands on the beach.  The Crews of Diana, Campechano, and DD all got together and enjoyed some great local fair.  After the weekend Campechano returned to Grenada to meet their daughter who is flying in for a visit.   Ken, Katy, Mike and I paid for a couple of nights on the moorings next to Sand Island.  It is a picturesque narrow white sand Island with a few palm trees surrounded by a ring of coral.  We enjoyed a couple of days of great snorkeling.   It has been established as a marine reserve and so the health of the coral is improving and the fish life is becoming more abundant.  We saw larger snapper and Rock Hinds.  I watched a very cool dark brown Octopus swim by and upon seeing me, flattened himself against the rocks and changed his color to perfectly match the specked multicolored surface of his background becoming nearly invisible.  We swam through clouds of thousands of small silver fish we refer to as shiners.  There are pelicans and boobies swooping in and if you are snorkeling in the right place at the right time and find yourself in the middle of one of the large schools you might be privileged to get to see one of the birds diving into the water close by. We even found a large lobster in about 8 feet of water.   He taunted us by walking part way out of his hole to check us out.   We thought about grabbing him but there is a strict no fishing rule within the Marine Park, which must surely explain his bravado.  We had seen live lobster, his size, for sale from the fishermen in town who told us they were catching them with snares, by scuba diving in 70ft of water.   The Crews of Diana and DD, stopped for lunch and picked up some additional fishing lures before checking out of Carriacou/Grenada waters to continue our journey north.   Next stop, Bequia.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Double Trouble

We needed to find some reliable WiFi so we headed over to Store Bay.   Tobago and especially the Store bay area are popular placed for the folks from Trini to come for a vacation.     There are some grand public beaches and resorts catering to the vacationers.    We took walks around the area and got our first taste of a local delicacy called a Double.  It is a delectable bit of fry bread stuffed with a curried chick pea and vegetable mix and a spicy tamarind sauce.    We picked up one of these along with what is commonly called a pie, similar in texture with a slightly sweeter flavor.   Both are fantastic.   The roadside stand was on the way to the grocery store and we found ourselves stopping again on the way back to place a second order.    We spoke with the young entrepreneur about her schedule for making these wonderful breakfast treats.   It is a labor intensive process and she is up at midnight beginning her preparations for the following day’s sales.   We also have a good idea of why they are called Doubles.  Perhaps it is because they could easily adopt the Lay’s chip slogan of “No one can eat just one” or maybe it’s because if you eat them daily for a while and you will double your size in just a few weeks.   Either way we will be returning to place another order in the very near future.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Off to an Oil Down!

July 17, 2010

Oil Down?  What’s an Oil Down?  Well it is a local gathering that operates on the same principal as the story of Stone Soup.  Friends and Neighbors all get together everyone bringing something and layer a large pot with locally grown Vegetables and Meat cooked in spiced coconut milk.    Everyone works together to prepare the ingredients and it is all assembled and cooked over an open fire.   Margie from S/V Encantada organized the cruisers and got enough interest to hire Cutty from Cutty’s Taxi and Tours to put one on.   He gets his friends and neighbors together who do most of the preparation of the meat and veggies.  Although they toned it down for the cruisers and left out the chicken feet and beaks, and the pigs tails.   For the cruisers part we all bring either an appetizer or a dessert and then help with grating coconut, cutting the last of the veggies, and make dumplings.     I have been in baking mode this week and have gotten much better at using my BBQ ( I do not have an oven).    For my contribution, I made spicy Caribbean Curry Patties which looked much like miniature empanadas.    They were a big hit while we were waiting for the Oil Down to Cook.  Cutty also takes the guests up to his home where he picks fresh fruits out of his yard for everyone to take home.    We were graced with Pineapple, Mango, French Cashew Fruit, and Avocados.   His neighbors also get an opportunity to sell beer and other drinks to generate income as well as the cruisers each paying for their meal and taxi ride.   Everyone had a wonderful time and the locals really enjoyed the unusual variety of delicacies and treats brought by the cruisers.    A great time was had by all.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.